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Special Features
- The Fact of Fiction: a 35-minute retrospective of the story's production
- Highlander: a 22-minute look at Frazer Hines's career
- Basil Brush: a 10-minute sketch featuring the Yeti
- Photo gallery
- Production note option
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The 1968 Doctor Who serial The Mind Robber is a two-fold blessing, because it's not only one of the more engaging story arcs from the program's second season, but also because it's one of the few shows featuring Patrick Troughton as the Doctor that has remained intact since its original BBC broadcast. The five-part story strands the Doctor and companions Jamie (Frazier Hines) and Zoe (Wendy Padbury) in a strange world populated by characters from fiction, including Rapunzel, Blackbeard the Pirate, and Lemuel Gulliver. Controlling this riot of literary personages is a being called The Master (though not the evil Time Lord from subsequent Who seasons), with whom the Doctor must match wits in order to rescue his friends and save the Earth from a sinister plan. A longtime fan favorite brimming with imagination, visual style (despite its limited budget), and an energetic performance by Troughton, The Mind Robber is a welcome inclusion to the growing collection of Doctor Who on DVD. --Paul Gaita
Product Description
A quick escape from the path of molten lava sends the Tardis to "nowhere" where anything that springs to mind may become reality.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 32 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
An underrated story that illustrates the resourcefulness of the Doctor Who series
November 2, 2005
By buckbooks
Format:DVD
"The Mind Robber" was initially derided by Who critics as mere fantasy when, in fact, the story has a solid science fiction foundation: the brain of an unseen alien intelligence must be fed by the musings of a pulp-fiction writer imprisoned in its service. Turn on the commentary text and many of the production problems that contributed to the unique nature of this story are revealed.
First, the original four-episode story was stretched to five because the previous story, "The Dominators," didn't offer enough material to pad out its planned six episodes and was cut back to five. So the added first installment of "The Mind Robber" had to be improvised on a shoestring budget from existing props and sets. The "great white void" which so distinguishes this story was created specifically because "nothing" was cheap to depict.
Next, actor Frazer Hines contracted chicken pox before shooting on the second episode could begin and had to be temporarily written out of the story. A substitute actor was cast to play Jamie that week with a clever subplot written in to explain his changed appearance.
The story, which may seem an incomprehensible jumble at first, actually follows a very logical set of rules exploring the nature of fiction vs. reality. The storyteller, for example, dictates the action, so the Doctor can change the story by writing it himself, but if he refers to himself in the narrative he will become a fictional character and therefore cease to exist.
The use of literary figures such as Lemuel Gulliver and Cyrano de Bergerac harks back to one of the series' original objectives, to serve as an educational children's program. Gulliver, for instance, speaks in dialogue lifted mostly from Jonathan Swift's novel.... Read more ›
First, the original four-episode story was stretched to five because the previous story, "The Dominators," didn't offer enough material to pad out its planned six episodes and was cut back to five. So the added first installment of "The Mind Robber" had to be improvised on a shoestring budget from existing props and sets. The "great white void" which so distinguishes this story was created specifically because "nothing" was cheap to depict.
Next, actor Frazer Hines contracted chicken pox before shooting on the second episode could begin and had to be temporarily written out of the story. A substitute actor was cast to play Jamie that week with a clever subplot written in to explain his changed appearance.
The story, which may seem an incomprehensible jumble at first, actually follows a very logical set of rules exploring the nature of fiction vs. reality. The storyteller, for example, dictates the action, so the Doctor can change the story by writing it himself, but if he refers to himself in the narrative he will become a fictional character and therefore cease to exist.
The use of literary figures such as Lemuel Gulliver and Cyrano de Bergerac harks back to one of the series' original objectives, to serve as an educational children's program. Gulliver, for instance, speaks in dialogue lifted mostly from Jonathan Swift's novel.... Read more ›
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
This is the best Dr. Who episode I've seen with the 2nd Doctor. It's also was the first black & white Dr. Who episode I've seen. I rented this video a few months ago and I really enjoyed it. The episode was somewhat in the realm of the Twilight Zone and Outer Limits in a way, but of course it's Dr. Who, in my opinion is the most creative (and intelligent) science fiction series in television history. I liked both Jamie and Zoe in this one when they get lost in this strange dimension where time and space doesn't exist and fantasies and storybook characters come to life. Doctor #2 was an interesting character, but not as much wit and charm as the Doctors I'm used to seeing like Tom Baker (#4). In all, Mind Robber is so fun to watch, very nostalgic. I recommend this video to fans of both Dr. Who and classic science fiction fans.
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
One of the most imaginative stories in Doctor Who took place during the notoriously unpreserved Patrick Troughton era. Fortunately, The Mind Robber survived the BBC purges for us to enjoy, and it's bizarrely surreal with a capital biz!
The TARDIS leaves the space-time dimension into a place where anything is possible. "We're nowhere, it's as simple as that." Jamie and Zoe enter nowhere, represented by a blank opaquely white background. The TARDIS breaks up, and they find themselves in a strange land full of life-size toy soldiers, a forest of words, unicorns, a Minotaur, Medusa, Rapunzel, and other characters.
They constantly encounter a British sailor who speaks in a well spoken but extraordinary manner, and the Doctor deduces his identity later.
Riddles and intuition are helpful in this land. And the Third Doctor's explanation to Jo in The Mind Of Evil, "we believe what our minds tell us to," is also apropos here. When Jamie and the Doctor try to rescue Zoe, they hear her voice behind a door without a handle. "When is a door not a door? When it's ajar." The door vanishes, and guess what they find Zoe trapped inside?
Wendy Padbury stands out as Zoe. She is cute as a button, in a glittering black catsuit, hanging for dear life on the disembodied TARDIS console like an exotic ornament. Another time, she has her turn as Emma Peel, using martial arts to overcome the Karkus, a Teutonic comic book superhero. Christopher Robbie (the Karkus), would return in Revenge Of The Cybermen as the Cyberleader. Zoe's inquisitive as the Doctor, while Jamie, protective of her as he was with Victoria, is more cautious. Keirsey would see it as a classic example of a Rational paired with a Guardian.
... Read more ›10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By Brian May
Format:VHS Tape
This 5 part story is a delight to watch. We must be thankful that this is one of the few Patrick Troughton adventures to exist in its entirety. Set in the Land of Fiction, "The Mind Robber" is wonderful, whimsical and fantastic (quite literally!). The opening episode is eerie and suspenseful as the plot slowly unfolds. There's a real sense of siege as the TARDIS comes under attack and the scenes in the white void are both surreal and tense. Once the crew reach the Land of Fiction, the story just gets better. Fictional characters such as Gulliver and Rapunzel are full of life and personality (unfortunately so much more than many "real" Dr Who characters!) and there are genuinely frightening moments (such as the confrontation with Medusa). The white robots and clockwork soldiers, although they look very simplistic and obviously BBC models/costumes, both exude an air of menace. A story such as this, set in a realm of fiction, could easily have overstepped the mark between fantasy and just plain preposterous - fortunately it doesn't. Great performances and a great story combined!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
IT'S THE DOCTOR! WHAT COULD BE BETTER!
IT'S THE DOCTOR! WHAT COULD BE BETTER!
Another great addition to my Doctor Who collection!
A must have for any Whovian!
Another great addition to my Doctor Who collection!
A must have for any Whovian!
Published 3 months ago by hondo101
3.0 out of 5 stars
My least favorite Classic serial & (judging from this) my least...
I got this because it sounded good but primarily because it was cheap, & for once I can see why. I read that most helpful review by buckbooks before buying this that explained the... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Patrick Correa
4.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting point...
An interesting point about this story is that Frazer Hines was sick for part of the filming. In the interim, Haming Wilson took over as Jamie and, those creative devils, worked it... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Benjamin Pavsner
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great DVD
If you are a Doctor Who fan you will like this DVD story is great but special effects are ok.
Published 5 months ago by Pete
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Episode
This episode is pretty creative. The doctor journey's outside of reality into the world of fiction. He meets fictional characters and has to figure out why he was brought there.
Published 6 months ago by Jared Smith
4.0 out of 5 stars
Creepy
Story 45 consists of episode 6.6-6.10. Would definitely not want to visit this planet...You feel bad for the... villain..at the end though...
Published 9 months ago by S. Molina
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Classic Dr Who Fix
With so many Patrick Trauton episodes missing it is always a pleasure to watch his performances. Helps to feed the Dr Who junkie inside.
Published 17 months ago by OJ
5.0 out of 5 stars
Might be the best of its era
Many hard core Dr. Who fans say that Patrick Troughton was the best actor to ever play Dr. Who, and they have good reasons for saying that. Read more
Published on May 2, 2011 by rabbit_one
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Most Psychodelic adventure of the 2nd Doctor!
This adventure is a wild ride, first you see the TARDIS explode into oblivion, second a bizzare land in a No Time existence, populated with fantasy characters of books and legends,... Read more
Published on June 15, 2009 by Jorge Dejesus Sanchez
4.0 out of 5 stars
This Grows On You
Since I'm a "Johnny Come Lately" to the Doctor Who series, I wanted to get at least one episode featuring each actor who played the Doctor. Read more
Published on April 9, 2009 by Howard M. Kindel
